HOW TO BECOME A FINISHER ? - MARC SEGUY
07-12-2021The tradition among finishers is to answer a survey for publication in the annual review and in the website. And I gladly lend myself to this exercise.
1- My feelings
I was happy as a kid who had just received the gift he had dreamed of for a long time. And this November 21 it was Christmas, quite simply. Messages from bigger friends on the same day and beyond extended this trip on a cloudy note. Thank you to all of you.
2- I started cycling quite late, at 34 years old. It is the search for an acceptable physical condition that motivated me. Fortunately, the presence of amateur riders in the 1st club did not disgust me from the outset: I especially learned to ride at a good pace in groups and to keep the pleasure of moving forward at these speeds. Then, I wanted to participate in cyclo-mountain and other cyclo-sports. 5 to 6 years at this rate, including 2 with acceptable results. The achievement of challenges, of the Cinglés du Ventoux type, preceded the "long distance" years. The meeting with long-distance riders, months of preparation to gain advice, to become hardened on patents, to keep the habit of riding for a long time and in the end, deep satisfactions and intense memories like those left by Paris- Brest-Paris. The frequentation of the mountain ranges was systematically the occasion to note the climbs of all kinds: an addiction was put in place from now on… without any vaccination obligation !!
3- My registration for the BIG came after those for the Club des Cent Cols and the order of Cols Durs. As for the Monts de France and the BIG, I really liked the prospect of an achievable term. But the high number of BIGs to garner impressed me enormously and held me back a bit.
• The "sport and media" criteria are really the two that have held my attention for several years.
• Then the interest in photography and an attraction for travel developed the "tourism" aspect while trying to keep the sporting aspect in a small corner of my head.
4- It is not the passages of the 800th or the 900th which let me believe that "I will arrive at 1000".
• On the other hand, I began to foresee that this became possible after we had lapped in, travel after travel, both by plane and by caravan. Choosing to buy a bicycle suitcase made my life easier and reassured (no looking for a bike rental company, having the right developments, getting started without too much delay).
• Another factor played a big role mentally, it is the trip of more than 3 months, at a slow and quite realistic pace, in "scarecrow lands" as I imagined them wrongly: Ukraine, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia.
5- In our private life, retirement changed the evolution of the score but the release of this free time would have remained without a future if we had not acquired a motorhome (replacing a caravan) and if my wife had not also agreed to be away for a long time (3 to 6 months per year) from us.
6- The countries where I encountered some difficulties to ride are:
• Chile because of the heat and the almost absence of water points at high altitude
• Ukraine, a country for which I had been advised to ride (by bike) with my passport, sound advice since I was checked, and not only once, by the military. This had never happened to me before.
• And on a physical level, it was in Austria that I really struggled the most.
7- In Iceland and New Zealand I encountered vast, grandiose, colorful, unusual landscapes. This immersion in these natural, airy, silent environments inevitably triggers the desire to photograph them and to reproduce my feelings as well as possible. Not easy. And we keep talking about these two countries on a regular basis.
8- I have often thought of the biggers who came before me, especially if I had had the opportunity to meet them during meetings. I thought about it all the more since I saw their photos posted on the site, And if the number of biggers for a specific country (Georgia for example) was low or very low then the mention of their name reassured me by somehow.
I am not thinking of pro riders or only since I became interested in the TGV challenge since I like to look for the location and the profile of the stages mentioned.
9- There was no competition with close members, even though I was looking at their results. Year after year, the choice of my annual program and the progress of the collection was like a "senator's train", without excessive runaway, without excessively long downtimes. I also put to sleep, without interrupting it, the collection of collars of the C.C.C. The Covid 19 obviously hampered the planning.
10-The tour of the Ardennes in 2013 is undoubtedly the strongest memory in sporting and relational terms in the BIG: there were many of us, I was discovering a region, the tour lasted 6 days, the organization top and having driven on the Francorchamps circuit, what a memory !!
The second is Dominique's 1000th BIG. That day, I was happy for him and I tried to project myself into the future.
11- And I make the link with my 1000th BIG. I have the small regret of having ridden it alone. I can only blame myself, can I? We should have anticipated! It is in no way a remorse, and especially not a bad memory.
12- I experience this lack of foreign languages as a hindrance when I climb alongside another bigger one and the exchanges are very reduced. Yes, in this case the multilingualism of the BIG is, for me, a drawback. I only jabber in English but during our travels I am superbly assisted by my wife.
13- Do you know this syllogism?
William Shakespeare wrote:
"Passion grows because of the obstacles placed against it",
But everything BIG is an obstacle to overcome,
So the passion can only increase BIG after BIG. C.Q.F.D.
14- I undertook to actively participate in the TGV challenge from its birth in 2021 and the horizon is widening with this great idea both in the field and through internet research concerning these 3 towers.
15- Austria, the volcanic islands are reserves of BIGs tricky by the harsh and lasting percentages if we are not careful and if we do not approach them with humility.
16- My relatives and this road to the Grail:
• 3 people from the very first circle have always given me encouragement and I thank them very much.
• From this same circle, other relatives hardly ever asked me where I was. Why not be content with the art of being a cake grandpa, they think…. without ever explicitly formulating the remark?
• The second circle is made up of people who are curious to know if I am still cycling and then if I am progressing in the ranking of… ??? ... without being able to name it. Some allow themselves to give advice as to the reckless efforts to be made and others express reservations due to age….
17- Regrets, no, I will have absolutely none to rehash; this page is turned, that's fine.
18- I intend to pursue the challenges that attract me the most, participate in annual meetings or discover regions or other countries.
19- And if we have to dare some suggestions or possible attitudes to move forward in this great challenge, I would say:
• maintain a certain consistency year after year,
• avoid any precipitation,
• take pictures, annotate them, build up a memory bank,
• maintain motivation by participating in one or more annual meetings,
• consult the site regularly.
20- Some climbers have a song in mind that they repeat to the rhythm of their pedaling. The little sentence that I said to myself and repeated, especially when preparing for an outing and sometimes when going up, is only an adaptation of a quote from F. Dard:
"We do not die rich of the BIGs already mounted,
But poor of those not yet climbed "
25-12-2021 - HAPPY FEASTS
07-12-2021 - HOW TO BECOME A FINISHER ? - MARC SEGUY
07-12-2021 - 6 NATaCHAs
22-11-2021 - 9th finisher ! HURRAH FOR MARC SEGUY
19-11-2021 - ARTICLES FROM MAGAZINE
16-11-2021 - FRIENDSHIP BIG - 100 COLS
26-10-2021 - DO YOU KNOW WE HAVE THOSE THINGS ?
03-10-2021 - Success for German Meeting
01-10-2021 - LEJOG's 3535 is back
25-08-2021 - TGV : Cucheron forgotten
23-08-2021 - GERMAN MEETING SOON
23-08-2021 - OFFICIAL MEETING - OFFICIAL BIG DAY 2021
23-08-2021 - IRONBIG MONTAGNE DE LA CROIX
19-07-2021 - TGV : 493 now with Tour de France 2021 included
29-06-2021 - INDEX
22-06-2021 - SWISS - SPEED LIMITED
15-06-2021 - BIGCYCLING LESSON 4
04-06-2021 - TGV : 491 NOW WITH GIRO 2021 INCLUDED
31-05-2021 - SALES ON CLOTHES !!!!
31-05-2021 - NATACHA ITALIA IS OPEN
20-05-2021 - GLOSSARY
10-05-2021 - PROMOTION ON CLOTHES IN JUNE
23-04-2021 - NEWSPAPER ABOUT TGV
19-04-2021 - OUR 5 PRINCIPLES
27-03-2021 - NAT-NED : ALREADY 3 FINISHERS
16-03-2021 - VOTES : CONSEQUENCES
11-03-2021 - RESULTS OF THE VOTES
10-03-2021 - NEW CHALLENGE : the TGV
28-02-2021 - VOTES GA/AG 2021
23-02-2021 - THE BIG MONDAYS in our FACEBOOK PAGE
22-02-2021 - OUR 4 CHALLENGES
10-02-2021 - GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021
02-02-2021 - CROSSROADS 2021
21-01-2021 - BASK COUNTRY 2021 MEETING
01-01-2021 - BEST WISHES FOR 2021
